The Demons that I Face
by koyoote
Summary: The past few months have been surprisingly uneventful. The Cure's faded, Hank's making progress in the UN, the Professor's returned, and the kids are the next generation of X-Men. But Magnet's finally been spoted on the move. Now, it's anyone's guess.


The Demons that I Face

Chapter One: Bat Your Eyes

It was just one of those days. The debriefing had been just a little too swift, a little too vague, and Rogue and the rest of the team were heading down to Virginia to see if the projected path of a group of Magneto followers would be passing through. Lucky them, they were passing through that very day. So while heading to their hotel, everyone had dropped their citizen clothes for the uniforms underneath and had entered battle mode.

The group of followers seemed to be led by one man in particular who had thrown the order to attack them on a deserted street. He didn't appear to have any mutant ability, but everyone else sure did. John was there, unfortunately for Bobby, but he was able to deadlock the pyro in battle, which was strange considering how easily he was defeated before. Another seemed to have a body made of concrete and unnatural strength. Then again, the boy was made of concrete. Colossus was having a hard time keeping himself unhurt while trying to keep the villain alive.

It had been decided before hand that they would try to capture one of the mutants to interrogate them if they caught their trail.

Their fourth companion had appeared out of no where. Because it had started out as a reconnaissance mission only Iceman, Colossus, Rogue, and Shadowcat were thought to be enough for the task. It hadn't been thought they could actually have timed their arrival so perfectly. So while Rogue was working on helping Kitty ensnare the leader of the group, the fourth sneaky enemy had formed out of the shadows, holding her back to him with a bo-staff made of metal.

Caught off guard, Rogue had been pulled from the battle in the street onto the alleyway. But her training did not desert her, and in seconds she had thrown her opponent over her shoulder but hadn't been able to bring the staff out of his grip. He sprang up quick as a cat and had thrown her back against the brick wall of a store building. Aching, but high on adrenaline Rogue paused only momentarily before sliding into a defensive stance; Logan taught all of the recruits his form of martial arts. It was something like a mix of karate, jujutsu, and the street fighting of the marines.

Her opponent had stilled at her sudden recovery, maybe expecting her to fall to the ground at his feet. He wore dark, tight clothing with a notable dark brown trench coat. There was also a strange head-wear that was black and covered his neck, half of his cheeks, and forehead like a headband. Rogue would guess that it covered the back of his head as well, but it didn't cover up his long auburn hair on top. What caught her out of her typical enemy match up were his eyes.

The glowing red orbs in a sea of black seemed to paralyze her. Green eyes widened in slight awe at the power they seemed to hold, the strange charm this man eluded by simply standing there. When he stepped forward, Rogue couldn't seem to remember their battle, her mission. Another foot closer and she couldn't recall slipping out of her stance. He was taller than her, she thought balefully as he stepped ever closer. His eyes did their job, mesmerizing her to mere liquid. Able to mold her to his will with a mere glance. The power had always made his blood heady, all the more so when facing an opponent with his ability.

Something instinctual in Rogue had tried to fight the glowing embers, but they were shut off, her mind taking the feel of a hypnotized romanced school girl. He was so close when she breathed the leather that they both wore touched, bumped ever suddenly that Rogue held her breath. Never once did the enemy let her gaze travel, even if just down his body. Long nimble fingers touched her cheek with softly covered digits. His strange half-fingered gloves gave him some protection from what he didn't know was venomous skin.

His goal was to make her swoon, to put her out of commission without even raising a fist. Perhaps, he'd have to take this a bit farther as her curiosity far outweighed her desire. The gloved fingers, dangerously close to his ungloved ones, tipped her chin a little higher, making his intentions known. Rogue's eyes widened in the knowledge and the demon-like enemy paused, taking in her surprising beauty.

When her eyes closed in submission, despite obtaining his goal, her opponent kissed her, felt that it wouldn't be a satisfying victory without it. He didn't even feel it at first, her poison kiss filling his senses with something both desirable and terrifying. Finally, when the drain became too noticeable to be ignored he opened his eyes in shock. Shock to find his body weakening, and shocked to see his own pair of eyes watching him. Rogue stepped back, her mind once again her own, but the information her enemy carried too vital to be shoved into her subconscious. The enemy—_Remy, Remy LeBeau the name, and dis be mon game_—gasped and fell forward, bracing himself against the brick wall over her head.

The new eyes in her skull didn't see things differently, if maybe a little brighter than usual making her wince at first. Shadows weren't shadows but dark spots that could be seen through with ease. Information flowed through her brain at high speeds and she tried her best to retain all of it; all of the meetings, briefings, missions, heists, family squabbles, and… She was getting a headache as the memories became deeper, more personal. But because she was unsure what was helpful and what wasn't, she strained herself to keep it all in the forefront of her head.

"_Merde chere_, you got some punch, hein?" he panted, still quite unable to take himself away from her because of his exhausting experience. Only now he looked down at her, Rogue's eyes a mirror of his own, with a shit eating grin, rather than a mix of shock and awe.

"Ya' shoulda' known betta, sugah. Didn' the higher ups tell you not t'touch a girl like me?" Rogue was buying time before she'd have to multi-task information filing and fighting. Remy didn't seem to mind.

"Now, y'outta know that Gambit don' take orders from _hommes_ dat tell 'im t'stay 'way from _belle filles_," he'd regained his breath, and Rogue's mind informed her of her enemy's blatant flirting skills and how they were used much too often. Time to twist the poor sap a little.

"Then why ya' takin' these guys for a spin?" Her coy eyes weren't getting her very far against a man as experienced in the life of love and luxury as much she or he would've liked. She had brought up business, and unfortunately, Remy didn't feel like divulging much. They might cut his paycheck.

"Mebbe so dat Gambit c'n meet a _belle femme_ like y'self," he flirted. Rogue didn't bother to hide her annoyance. She sighed in an agonized way, slumping a little down the wall away from his crooked grin. Finally she looked up at him again and he noticed in an interested fashion that her eyes had changed color to a glowing green. Her normal eye color would be returning to her soon.

"So, ya' gonna give in Cajun, or am I gonna have'ta drag ya' back, cave-woman style?" What must've irritated her the most was the fact that the man actually seemed to be considering his 'options'. Remy tilted his head, raising an eyebrow in thoughtfulness , before leaning ever closer.

"Perhaps you could persuade dis Cajun wit' anot'er _baiser_, en' he t'ink about comin' real quiet like." Rogue wasn't sure what surprised her more, his audacity and balls, or the fact that he was already leaning over her quite temptingly, as if really asking for it. He couldn't possibly want to kiss her again after barely making it out of the last one. And didn't he realize by the way that she took his eye coloring that she actually absorbed something of him, power, looks, mind, something?

"This Cajun gets another kiss, and he'll be as quiet as the dead," she mocked, trying hard to keep her face in a confident smirk. Perhaps he could sense it, because he only leaned in ever closer. Smirk lost, her eyes widened and she slipped under his arm to slip into a fighting stance behind him. She'd barely avoided contact, the mutation she had absorbed only just now ebbing away.

The demon-eyed man only turned, leaning casually on the wall while crossing his arms in a playful pout, "Playin' hard to get, _mon chere_?" A scowl appeared on Rogue's beautiful face as she sized him up one more time, determined not to be fooled by any trick he possessed. She would fulfill her mission one way or another.

"Not really, just makin' sure you're brought back alive, swamp rat. Dead men don't got minds that we c'n read," her fists clenched, the leather scrunching noisly, as she prepared to attack. Nevermind the fact that she already had what they needed in her head. Keeping one bad guy off the streets for a while would be worth any extra bruises she received.

There was that damned shit-eating grin again. The shadows were darker without his eyes over her own, the lines around his form in the building's darkness made him appear to be a mysterious stranger. A shocked stillness overrode her body when his eyes flared. Literally, like little rings of fire, they glowed and expanded dangerously over his eyes. The paralysis lasted only seconds. That was all it took.

In her line of vision was only one thing left. And despite her trying to survey the surroundings, he was long gone. The thing he'd left behind was a playing card. More than likely it was for her to find and keep, because according to his memories he could've set it as a time bomb. Flipping the little plastic card over in her hands, she was unsurprised to find the King of Hearts.

Snorting out loud in mild indignace, the striped girl slipped the card between her poisonous wrist and the leather of her uniform to keep the card safe for the moment. She didn't bother to wonder why she kept it, it just seemed like the right thing to do.

Muttering quietly as she left the alleyway to join her companions at the end of the battle, the wind carried a few words over the rooftops, "_He'd like to think himself the King o' Hearts, wouldn' 'e_."

A dark cloaked figure bowed his head in slight merth, feeling his eyes dance upon the venomous girl's enchanting walk and body. It wouldn't be long before they meet again, he felt. Enemies or otherwise.

A/N: Hey guys, saw the Origins movie, had to write something. This was actually from a while ago though. I only edited it slightly. Wonder if it shows. Anyway, before any die-hards nail me for it, I know that Remy doesn't actually associate himself with the King of Hearts. I just thought it a little to early to leave Rogue something meaningful like the Queen, and this situation seemed to funny to leave an actual calling card. It's the Ace of Spade right? That's his typical card, unless he's comparing himself to the Joker... But I've only seen that once or twice, and I don't think it's canon. So this is possibly a one-shot, maybe a little more. Something along the lines of A Beautiful Flirtation which I absolutely recommend. I've got half of the next chapter complete and if you guys like this I'll complete that.

Tell me if you like how I characterized Gambit, kay? Pretty sure I have Rogue down, but considering all the different versions of both characters I could be wrong. Until next time.


End file.
